blackbenzz

I thought it would be a good idea to gather info on axles and diffs so we could see what can be swapped and what upgrades are possibly available.

In 04+ E55 the axles slide into the diff and the rear is geared 2.68

In early 03 E55 had axles that bolt onto the diff.

I believe the SL55 had a 2.82 ratio diff but would require axle swap as well to fit an E55. This had been fine by member Jakpro1

If you have any additional info please post up. Things like spline count are important so if you have that info post up. I've been personally trying many different things for my clk.

It seems like we may be able to use some Chrysler parts for things such as diffs and maybe even axles. The more info we share the better it is for the community. Shorter gears would be great to have especially when Chrysler parts can be picked up for rather cheap. And now that eurocharged can tune the tcu for different gear ratios we can try different things

KLR CLS

The two diff's used in 55K cars are the Mettinger M210( 02,03) cars and M215( 03+). The number indicating the ring gear diameter. A variant of M215 is used in the SRT-8 ( slightly different casing for mounting tabs, but internally identical). The M210 is used in RT LX cars.
The M215 has a 29 spline axle side( 30 on the diff side) and not sure on the wheel hub side. The axles look very similar in length to SRT-8 Axles
The ring gear options for the diff include,
2.62,2.82, 3.06( stock MB and Chrysler ratios)
3.23, 3.55 ( Richmond R&P sets)
All of the above are compatible in the M215mm pumpkin housing
DriveShaft Shop make axles and hubs for 1000hp plus that I imagine are pretty close to compatible, but woul just need sombody to measure
In order for any of these to work you need to program the EGS52 TCM for the correct control ratio.( jerry can do this)

I will be installing my 3.06 sometime soon and will try to do a full documentation of the process.

blackbenzz

Excellent info! Thanks

CLKCLK

What gain would you see if you go from 2.62 to 3.06 diff ratio?
You will get better 0-60 time and will scarify top speeds? Will you improve 1/4m time?

blackbenzz

Quicker acceleration and lower top speed. Depending on your tires and rev limit it can help your 1/4 time

KLR CLS

Well with a 3.06 its about a 15% reduction in gearing, which affects torque multiplication in gears. Assuming all things being equal in traction, 0-60 is definately improved. We have very short 1-3 gears as is, so this will shorten them about 15% for a trade off of 15% more RPM for a given speed. 1/4 mile "should" be imporved dependent on your overall tire diameter. It may or may not cause an earlier shift into 4th which could affect overall ET. Mostly it will feel alot quicker in gear acceleration as for a given gear you are multipling torque at the wheels by ...you guessed it ...15%( like adding 75WTQ on a 500WTQ car).

KLR CLS

Considering how tall 5th is, a 2.62 geared car has a 240+ mph theoretical top speed. I think we can probably trade off alittle for better acceleration...

chiromikey

but we must also consider that the top of 5th gear is irrelevant (unattainable). knowing the theoretical top speeds for each of the relevant gears is where the decision lies. it might be helpful if you have that info handy!

KLR CLS

I posted this before...

Here is a list of max RPM per gear for different ratios with my hoosiers as the rolling diameter starting with stock:

2.62:1
RPM 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
500 4 7 10 14 17
600 5 8 12 17 21
700 6 9 14 20 24
800 6 11 16 23 28
900 7 12 18 26 31
1000 8 13 20 29 35
1100 9 14 23 32 38
1200 10 16 25 35 42
1300 10 17 27 38 45
1400 11 18 29 40 49
1500 12 20 31 43 52
1600 13 21 33 46 56
1700 14 22 35 49 59
1800 14 24 37 52 63
1900 15 25 39 55 66
2000 16 26 41 58 70
2100 17 28 43 61 73
2200 18 29 45 63 76
2300 18 30 47 66 80
2400 19 32 49 69 83
2500 20 33 51 72 87
2600 21 34 53 75 90
2700 22 36 55 78 94
2800 23 37 57 81 97
2900 23 38 59 84 101
3000 24 40 61 87 104
3100 25 41 63 89 108
3200 26 42 65 92 111
3300 27 43 68 95 115
3400 27 45 70 98 118
3500 28 46 72 101 122
3600 29 47 74 104 125
3700 30 49 76 107 129
3800 31 50 78 110 132
3900 31 51 80 113 136
4000 32 53 82 115 139
4100 33 54 84 118 143
4200 34 55 86 121 146
4300 35 57 88 124 149
4400 35 58 90 127 153
4500 36 59 92 130 156
4600 37 61 94 133 160
4700 38 62 96 136 163
4800 39 63 98 138 167
4900 39 65 100 141 170
5000 40 66 102 144 174
5100 41 67 104 147 177
5200 42 69 106 150 181
5300 43 70 108 153 184
5400 43 71 110 156 188
5500 44 72 113 159 191
5600 45 74 115 162 195
5700 46 75 117 164 198
5800 47 76 119 167 202
5900 47 78 121 170 205
6000 48 79 123 173 209
6100 49 80 125 176 212
6200 50 82 127 179 216
6300 51 83 129 182 219
6400 51 84 131 185 222
6500 52 86 133 188 226
6600 53 87 135 190 229
6700 54 88 137 193 233
6800 55 90 139 196 236
6900 55 91 141 199 240

2.82
RPM 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
500 4 6 10 14 16
600 5 7 12 16 20
700 5 9 13 19 23
800 6 10 15 22 26
900 7 11 17 24 29
1000 8 12 19 27 33
1100 8 14 21 30 36
1200 9 15 23 33 39
1300 10 16 25 35 42
1400 11 17 27 38 46
1500 11 19 29 41 49
1600 12 20 31 43 52
1700 13 21 33 46 56
1800 14 22 35 49 59
1900 14 24 37 52 62
2000 15 25 38 54 65
2100 16 26 40 57 69
2200 17 27 42 60 72
2300 17 28 44 62 75
2400 18 30 46 65 78
2500 19 31 48 68 82
2600 20 32 50 70 85
2700 20 33 52 73 88
2800 21 35 54 76 91
2900 22 36 56 79 95
3000 23 37 58 81 98
3100 23 38 60 84 101
3200 24 40 62 87 105
3300 25 41 63 89 108
3400 26 42 65 92 111
3500 26 43 67 95 114
3600 27 45 69 98 118
3700 28 46 71 100 121
3800 29 47 73 103 124
3900 29 48 75 106 127
4000 30 50 77 108 131
4100 31 51 79 111 134
4200 32 52 81 114 137
4300 32 53 83 117 140
4400 33 54 85 119 144
4500 34 56 87 122 147
4600 35 57 88 125 150
4700 35 58 90 127 154
4800 36 59 92 130 157
4900 37 61 94 133 160
5000 38 62 96 136 163
5100 39 63 98 138 167
5200 39 64 100 141 170
5300 40 66 102 144 173
5400 41 67 104 146 176
5500 42 68 106 149 180
5600 42 69 108 152 183
5700 43 71 110 155 186
5800 44 72 112 157 189
5900 45 73 113 160 193
6000 45 74 115 163 196
6100 46 76 117 165 199
6200 47 77 119 168 203
6300 48 78 121 171 206
6400 48 79 123 174 209
6500 49 80 125 176 212
6600 50 82 127 179 216
6700 51 83 129 182 219
6800 51 84 131 184 222
6900 52 85 133 187 225

3.06
RPM 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
500 3 6 9 12 15
600 4 7 11 15 18
700 5 8 12 17 21
800 6 9 14 20 24
900 6 10 16 22 27
1000 7 11 18 25 30
1100 8 13 19 27 33
1200 8 14 21 30 36
1300 9 15 23 32 39
1400 10 16 25 35 42
1500 10 17 27 37 45
1600 11 18 28 40 48
1700 12 19 30 42 51
1800 13 21 32 45 54
1900 13 22 34 47 57
2000 14 23 35 50 60
2100 15 24 37 52 63
2200 15 25 39 55 66
2300 16 26 41 57 69
2400 17 27 43 60 72
2500 17 29 44 62 75
2600 18 30 46 65 78
2700 19 31 48 67 81
2800 19 32 50 70 84
2900 20 33 51 72 87
3000 21 34 53 75 90
3100 22 35 55 77 93
3200 22 37 57 80 96
3300 23 38 58 82 99
3400 24 39 60 85 102
3500 24 40 62 87 105
3600 25 41 64 90 108
3700 26 42 66 92 111
3800 26 43 67 95 114
3900 27 44 69 97 117
4000 28 46 71 100 120
4100 29 47 73 102 123
4200 29 48 74 105 126
4300 30 49 76 107 129
4400 31 50 78 110 132
4500 31 51 80 112 135
4600 32 52 82 115 138
4700 33 54 83 117 141
4800 33 55 85 120 144
4900 34 56 87 122 148
5000 35 57 89 125 151
5100 35 58 90 127 154
5200 36 59 92 130 157
5300 37 60 94 132 160
5400 38 62 96 135 163
5500 38 63 97 137 166
5600 39 64 99 140 169
5700 40 65 101 142 172
5800 40 66 103 145 175
5900 41 67 105 147 178
6000 42 68 106 150 181
6100 42 70 108 152 184
6200 43 71 110 155 187
6300 44 72 112 157 190
6400 45 73 113 160 193
6500 45 74 115 162 196
6600 46 75 117 165 199
6700 47 76 119 167 202
6800 47 78 121 170 205
6900 48 79 122 172 208

3.23
RPM 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
500 3 5 8 12 14
600 4 6 10 14 17
700 5 8 12 17 20
800 5 9 13 19 23
900 6 10 15 21 26
1000 7 11 17 24 29
1100 7 12 18 26 31
1200 8 13 20 28 34
1300 9 14 22 31 37
1400 9 15 24 33 40
1500 10 16 25 36 43
1600 11 17 27 38 46
1700 11 18 29 40 48
1800 12 19 30 43 51
1900 13 21 32 45 54
2000 13 22 34 47 57
2100 14 23 35 50 60
2200 15 24 37 52 63
2300 15 25 39 54 66
2400 16 26 40 57 68
2500 16 27 42 59 71
2600 17 28 44 62 74
2700 18 29 45 64 77
2800 18 30 47 66 80
2900 19 31 49 69 83
3000 20 32 50 71 86
3100 20 34 52 73 88
3200 21 35 54 76 91
3300 22 36 55 78 94
3400 22 37 57 80 97
3500 23 38 59 83 100
3600 24 39 60 85 103
3700 24 40 62 88 106
3800 25 41 64 90 108
3900 26 42 65 92 111
4000 26 43 67 95 114
4100 27 44 69 97 117
4200 28 45 71 99 120
4300 28 46 72 102 123
4400 29 48 74 104 125
4500 30 49 76 107 128
4600 30 50 77 109 131
4700 31 51 79 111 134
4800 32 52 81 114 137
4900 32 53 82 116 140
5000 33 54 84 118 143
5100 34 55 86 121 145
5200 34 56 87 123 148
5300 35 57 89 125 151
5400 36 58 91 128 154
5500 36 59 92 130 157
5600 37 61 94 133 160
5700 38 62 96 135 163
5800 38 63 97 137 165
5900 39 64 99 140 168
6000 40 65 101 142 171
6100 40 66 102 144 174
6200 41 67 104 147 177
6300 42 68 106 149 180
6400 42 69 107 151 183
6500 43 70 109 154 185
6600 44 71 111 156 188
6700 44 72 112 159 191
6800 45 73 114 161 194
6900 45 75 116 163 197

blackbenzz

Give me your rev limit, tire size, and gear ratio and I will tell you mph in each gear

chiromikey

thanks klr...i do recall seeing your post before but didn't remember it having mph.

so it looks like with anything over 2.82 (and even with those in some cases) we'll be shifting into 4th during the 1/4mile. it might be a coin toss as to 1/4mile benefits or dependent on where people like their shift/kick down points for the street.

i personally don't know that i see any benefit since i seem to be able to out launch most street cars except a rare highly modded awd encounter...but choice is always good.

MRAMG1

That extra shift right before the timing light would be devastating, IMHO.

With the AMG slush boxes, the little that could be gained from this, would be lost do to the lag in shifting, well at least 1/10 of a second

But for the street, it could be VERY fun, IMHO

urbamworm

I see only a bigger problem since the traction light flashes to 60 now with stock gearing, so with quicker shorter gears you are just going to fight the esp to say 80mph instead. Sure could be good for at the 1/4 mile with some sticky drag radials but for the other 95% of the time you drive it will ruin your acceleration due to power cut from loss of traction from even more torque than we already have.

KLR CLS

I don't understand that logic. Are you saying you wouldn't do a mod that added 75wtq just cause it would add too much power for the tires? I get that power is nothing without traction, but only when it comes absolute timing. I guarantee that shorter gearing will be way more "fun" and feel alot faster than stock 2.65 day to day.

For me, I am never going to be the guy who strips his Mercedes interior and runs a racing bucket just to set some arbitrary record to brag on the internet. All I want is to sit in the staging lanes, with AC, massage seats, and sat radio on, then rip a low 11. I want to be able to put anybody I run into on the roads in their place if the situation needs it, and I want to walk away from my car with a smile every time.

FYI There are several 800+ hp SRT-8's running stock 3.06( or higher 3.23 or 3.55) gearing well into the 9's and 10's, so It's can't bee too bad for the 1/4.

MRAMG1

Okay my friend, that's a BIG

See you at Timmyfest with a few new surprises!!!

urbamworm

I didn't say it would be bad for the 1/4, I said it would be good for the 1/4 but not so good on the street unless we are talking freeway runs from higher speeds. The way the 55k has so much torque so low in the rpms is kind of a problem for traction driving around town at lower speeds (under 45-50) and taking off from a stop. I would think you should obviously know this having the engine, well unless you have much wider tires on your CLS than most run on an E55 giving you a traction advantage.

You can't floor the car without getting major power cut from esp as it is, so can you explain to me how you are not going to have even more trouble with traction by making your gears shorter? Everyone wants more and more power which just adds to that problem and the way I see it, shorter peaky gears will compound that. It will be awesome from say 60-70mph and up making the car quicker for sure, there is no question there, or of course at the track with drag radials.

I guess it just depends on what you are looking for, but me personally, I would like my car to be able to take off from a light and pull like a train instead of just being limited so much watching my triangle flash and then finally being planted in my seat at 80mph to pull hard to 100 for the last 20mph.

It is kind of like one of those sayings "what is the difference between a 500whp and 1000whp Supra on street tires? Nothing, they both run 12s." You can just make an E55 one and say what is the difference between a 500whp geared E55 and a stock E55 from 0-100? Nothing because the 500whp geared one just has power cut the whole time fighting the traction control while the stock one straight pulls the whole time. Obviously that is being a little facetious, but I would hope you get my point.

I think I remember reading a post my the member Skratch a while back about how he was wanting to get rid of his big pulley and put a smaller one back on. He said since he had made the car "undrivable" when it was cooler out having so much torque just caused loss of traction and makes the car slower driving around for day to day driving.

Like, look at this video from when it is cold out and the car is making more power after 1:15 and how esp just flashed to 80mph on some runs. You can feel the car struggling to go driving it and the gauge isn't sweeping amazingly fast either due to power being cut and then finally you gain traction and then feel the car start pulling hard. How are you going to get around that with gears if it does that on stock gears? You can't go fast if you are being computer controlled limiting your or your other option going sideways. Traction traction traction.

Click here

KLR CLS

Well I see what you mean. I do have 305's but I still roast those at will in the forward 3 gears. In any event It's still gonna be fun, and It's something different than the usual mods.( like your VB mod).

blackbenzz

Are the 211 E55 axles different lengths? The srt ones are

KLR CLS

for the different Diff's they are...

blackbenzz

I meant on the same car. Left and right are different lengths for srt

chawkins2001

3.55 or bust Imagine the TQ multiplication factor with that set. You could always tone it down with a taller slick if need be, who cares about top speed, 1/4 is where it is at

BBBSS

Another issue to consider with a taller gear is the driveshaft integrity at high speeds. It will now be spinning faster and at some point it starts turning into a jump rope and bad bad things can happen. I know my 96 Impala was speed limited due to the drive shaft trying to play jump rope under the car a couple mph above where GM capped it. Something to look into if you plan to do this mod.


Also since I have an 03 is there anyway to tell if I have the older or newer setup without pulling the cover on the diff? Is the older style notably weaker or just a different design?

blackbenzz

Ok guys I just opened up the wallet and bought a bunch of parts. Now they will be going on a CLK55 but I will post all kinds of info and measurements for everyone else. Sucks to be a pioneer sometimes. This will be a huge win or epic fail. I bought M215 3.06 diff, wavetrac LSD, and 1400hp DSS axles/hubs

3.55 may be a bit too agressive for me but time will tell. I don't need a 200+mph top speed so not really scarificing much on that end
Look at your axles. If they bolt to the diff they are older. If they slide in they are newer.

mthis

Nice to see u keeping the CLK going forward.
Looking forward to watching that beast pull a wheelie

What can u tell me about my speeds
Tire diameter is 25.31
2.82 gears

blackbenzz

Thanks! I don't get the parts until the end of next week but I hope this all works out. I will be out of the country the following weekend but when I get back its full steam ahead on this project

I will have to look up the gearing in the C63 since its different than the 722.6 I will text you the numbers. What is your rev limit as that is important factor